Dark, Hidden Feelings
by TeamEthanMorgan
Summary: AU, Benny, the 17 years old vampire, had given up hope of love. That was until he met the new student, Ethan. But is everything gonna be perfect? Possibly not. Benny/Ethan with slight Jesse/Ethan.
1. The New Student

**Well, so many of you guys are very happy that I'm more into the Bethan shipping… thing… place… whatever. I was never good with choosing words, anyway. But I'm getting too much support for this. Why? *cries* I love you guys! But… I wasn't expecting this.**

**I don't want to put any drama in here and I know most of you guys want to read (and are excited as I'm told). So, we shall start with this new, awesome story. Hopefully, you'll like it. I won't promise that I won't be evil, though. I'll torture you Bethan shipper just as much. Mwahaha!**

**Oh, right! Story. Sorry (haha, that rhymed… in my accent, anyway).**

* * *

Benny hated this day most of all. It was the morning before the first day of school. Well, it was three AM, but it was still the morning. It wasn't like he needed sleep. Vampires didn't have to rest, which was something he learned to enjoy in this whole year of being an undead creature.

He tried his best to keep his spirit up that day, but as he expected, nothing worked on him. Why would anyone be happy for school to start, anyway, other than those who think about seeing their friends only?

At first, Benny played a video game that wasn't any fun without the noises. But he didn't want to raise the volume up or else he would wake his grandmother up. Then, he'd switch to turning on the TV and watching something while keeping the volume low yet heard by him, which wasn't hard thanks to his super hearing. This went on for an hour until he got a text from one of his other vampire friends, Erica.

"U there?" was what had been written to him. After he answered her question, she typed, "U fine w/ listening what I have 2 say?" He couldn't say no because he was bored, so he agreed to. "I heard that there r those new guys in school, and rumors r, 1 of them is gay!"

He sighed at his friend's attempt to let him try to talk to a guy. Well, that was another thing about him: he liked boys. He knew he did right after his girlfriend bit him. It wasn't because he thought girls were just as bad as her. He believed many girls were nice, but he just felt like he didn't want girls anymore. He wanted something else. And now, everyone knew, even students at school, that he was gay. But being in "drama club", a club the vampires made for themselves, had its advantages. Not even jocks would tease him now. Instead, _he_ could do it to them.

He thought about what he would type to Erica, then he wrote, "Air, stop it. Don't try to even look for the supposedly new gay student. I can handle everything."

It took her a few seconds, then he received, "Fine." Then she added, "But I'm not giving up on this, Weir."

He laughed at this. When she'd try to joke or show anything of that kind of humor, she'd usually use his last name.

But after that, the morning remained uneventful until his grandmother called him to go to school.

He groaned at this and lazily grabbed his leather jacket to put it on and took his backpack. After he ran downstairs, he went to his grandmother, who was eating breakfast, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Benjamin," his grandmother called him just as he turned. "Aren't you going to eat?"

He looked at her as if she was kidding. She knew about what he was, so why ask him such a question?

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Sometimes I forget." When he looked into her eyes, he could see the sadness that she so badly wanted to hide. He felt bad for her.

He gave her a quick hug, which she returned. "It's fine." Then the smile was back on her face when he let go of her. And since he didn't want to leave her upset, he headed straight for the door and said his goodbye.

He took his time driving to school since he wasn't in the mood to hear Rory's endless talks, or Erica's attempts of getting him a date or Sarah's talks about her boyfriends. Even with these negative points that existed in the three of them, he still loved them and wanted to see them.

When he reached the parking lot, he put his car somewhere a bit far from the school's building because he liked to walk. Once he was inside, he went to where his friends would usually stand. And as usual, he'd get greeted on the way by many people he barely knew, yet they bothered to look, smile and wave.

Once he saw his friends by one of the lockers, he smiled and made his way to them. And when he got close, he didn't really expect the hugs from the girls. For the first time, Rory was the normal one. He just extended his hand for shaking.

"You guys act like we haven't seen each other for months."

Sarah laughed. "I know we've seen each other last week, but it's nice to spend more time with you guys. You know what I mean?"

She received one or two nods from the others.

"Enough about this," Erica said. Then Benny was unexpectedly spun around by her. "What about him?"

He didn't even bother looking at anyone. He rolled his eyes and turned around. "I'll find someone when I want to, okay? For now, let me be."

A look of giving-up showed on Erica's face. He knew it was just for today, maybe, and not for eternity, which he would've been grateful for.

The four exchanged a few talks before Benny decided to go to his lockers to get ready to go to class. According to his schedule, he had math. So, going to his locker, he arranged a few things in it, which he found a bit messy since last year, and prepared for going to class.

But just when he was about to close his locker, he saw a guy. A new student, maybe? He was wearing a dark brown shirt with a dark hoodie and black jeans. He looked a bit short and he was talking to someone who Benny guessed was one of the geeks. What caught his attention was the fact that he heard his name from that side. He didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, but the mentioning of his name was a bit distracting to him. He quickly looked away and pretended to be busy.

"Well, go ask him. Talk to him." He wasn't sure which this once, but he didn't care.

"No. What if-"

"Oh, shut up. Just do it."

Then he saw at the corner of his eyes one of them getting a few steps closer towards him. But the question was: why would they even talk about him now? Did something happen?

Then when he saw the one being pushed coming even closer to him. "Um, excuse me?"

Now, he turned his head to have a look at him.

It was the new kid, as he expected. He was definitely not very tall and he looked younger. But of course, he could be wrong. He had an innocent kind of face and a hair that was dark yet a bit longer.

"Yes?" he asked.

Maybe he wanted to come and talk to him, but why? He didn't even know him. Yet, the guy looked like he was brightened up just by coming close to him.

"I'm kind of lost looking for my way to class and I don't know if I'm bothering you or anything, but…" his words faded away as if waiting for him to say something. Then he realized what he wanted him to say.

"No, it's fine. Just tell me which class and grade."

"Thank you." Of course, Benny knew that geek would've been able to lead him to his path, but he _had_ to come this way. He just shrugged this off. "I'm supposed to go to… eleventh grade math class."

"Lucky for you, I'm heading the same way." He was wrong after all. He wasn't any younger than he was.

And so, Benny got his backpack ready on his shoulder and led the guy to class. But he realized he couldn't call him "that guy".

"Hey, I can't not know your name, right?"

When he said that, the guy smiled and looked in front of him, walking behind Benny.

"Right. Um, I'm Ethan. Ethan Morgan."

He felt like Ethan already knew his name, but he said it anyway. "Benny Weir. Nice to meet you, Ethan."

"Nice to meet you, too, Benny."The same smile appeared on his face. But shyness also seemed to come when he put his head down and his hands in his pockets.

He felt the need to start a conversation, so he said, "So, first time in here?"

He looked back at him and shook his head. "Not in Whitechapel. Been here before. But in WC High, yes."

It was weird that if Ethan _was_ there before in Whitechapel, he would've known him. But yet again, he mostly knew people in their school, so it wasn't that strange that he was unfamiliar. Plus, maybe he was here before because of some tiny situation and then left. Maybe. Just maybe.

He asked the simplest question in his head to keep the conversation with him moving. "Do you like it in here so far?" Benny didn't even like it there, but he felt the need to ask this.

"Kind of." Then it was silent. They just kept walking.

He figured out Ethan would need help with where his next class would be, so he asked, "What class do you have next?"

"I think I have…" he paused to remember. "Chemistry? Yeah, chemistry." He nodded to himself. "But why?"

"Well, if you want to go to chemistry after this period ends, it's the class directly to its left."

He nodded again. "Thanks."

He was about to reply to him, but then he saw that they were close to the door. So, answering back quickly, he kept his eyes on the door.

"Here we are," were his words. "Let's go."

Ethan looked a bit nervous to enter. All it took was a light push from Benny to let him look at his face.

"Dude, don't worry." But fear would not go away from his eyes. "Just go in." _Wow, encouraging the new student, huh, Benny?_ It seemed like everything coming out of his mouth was wrong.

Now, his push made Ethan walk inside. Still, he was a bit shy around the others that were sitting. They were a few people sitting since they were early, but he understood that Ethan didn't know anyone.

"You can sit anywhere but the back corner seats. People near there are scary." Of course, even if the scary students freaked him out, he could do much worse to them. But he couldn't use his power, and that was one thing he had besides his popularity.

But something was weird about him today. He was giving more attention to Ethan than even his friends. Maybe it was the fact that he was cute distracted his thoughts and he didn't know it.

Before he could think further about this, he took a seat beside Della, Rory's crush. Rory would rarely sit beside her because he was afraid to mess things up. So, sitting beside her and maybe trying to mention Rory would be a favor. He greeted her and shook her hand, saying things about how much it's been a while how much he missed talking to her. Well, it wasn't a total lie, anyway.

He was a bit busy talking to her and trying to include Rory in the conversation that he didn't notice the teacher come in. So he sat straight and tried to listen.

* * *

**Okay, yaaay!**

**The chapter's end sucked, I know. But anyway, the point of this whole chapter was that Benny meets Ethan. That is it. That's the whole purpose. **

**I think this story will be interesting. And if there's any note you'd like to point out, just tell me.**

**And oh, yes, I'm here to tell you that so far two people asked to collaborate with me. So, anytime, expect jujupops494 and JustBeYou182 to be involved in one of my stories. Jujupops494 and I will be writing "Unwanted Romance", though I think I will change the title (I always do). JustBeYou182 and I haven't decided yet. But just wanted to let you know that. Hehe. I'm kind of excited. :)**

**Until the next chapter… or story...**

**-TEM**


	2. Jesse's Party

**A few people have been waiting for the next chapter, so here it is! I'm planning for this to have more Bethan. If the chapter takes a different turn, then we'll see what happens.**

**Oh, and... MERRY CHRISTMAS! Not that I celebrate it, but eh.**

**Let us start!**

* * *

Benny sat on his bed after every one of his three friends took a seat. The reason he asked them to come was to prepare and go together to Jesse's house... because he had a perty. Not that they were excited, anyway. For the whole week, they wouldn't even mention Jesse's name. So, why talk about the party?

The one who had more of a reason to not talk about Jesse was Benny. Well, before and after Benny told everyone he was gay, girls who dated Jesse would come to him, say they broke up with Jesse and ask him to go on a date. Of course, since he didn't like girls that way, he would break their heart. It wasn't on purpose. Some seemed innocent and scared of Jesse. Some were hot flirts who'd go and talk to him. Even when they knew he liked guys, they kept coming to him. That made Jesse hate Benny. Ever since, Jesse would look at Benny with dangerously scary eyes that really didn't make Benny fear him. They've been fighting for a whole year, which was since Benny turned. Well, could Jesse blame him? He was attractive. Well, he convinced himself that he was and girls seemed to think that.

"So," Rory started. "Jesse's party. It starts now."

Erica raised her hands till they were beside her head. "Woohoo," she said in monotone.

"Anyway, Benny, we're ready," Sarah said. "Are we going now? The sooner we're there, the sooner we can leave."

"Yeah, just a second," Benny said. He went to his closet, got his leather jacket out. Once he wore it, he put his cell phone in there. He didn't want to go, but since "food" was available, he couldn't say "no". It was hard enough feeding when people were all around. There, at least, he could have his dinner with vampires being all around. "Let's go."

The four vampires went downstairs, said "goodbye" to Benny's grandmother and headed to the door. The walk to Jesse's mansion was silent. Good thing they were fast walkers, so the awkwardness wasn't very long-lasting. When they reached Jesse's gates, they could hear the loud music and the chats coming from everyone inside. Inside the gates was a yard brightly lit. The smell of fresh blood lingered in the air, making all of them want some. People were dressed in dark colors, and even though they were undead, they seemed alive for once. Jesse knew how to throw a party.

They entered and said "hi" to some people who they knew. The vampires were a lot, so they stood in a corner where no one would bump into or annoy them.

"So," Erica said. "I saw you with a cute guy today after you left us for class. Who was he? Is he interested in you? Do you-"

"Air, he just wanted to know where his class was and I helped him. Nothing went on," Benny said. "Plus, he seems too innocent. I don't want him involved in "Drama Club"."

"But I thought you-" Before Rory could say more, Sarah nudged him. He showed a sign of pain but then fake-smiled.

"You thought I what?" Benny asked. His best friend stayed silent. "Rory! What did you want to say?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

Benny wanted to know what was going on, but he didn't want to make his friend tell him something unwillingly. Rory just shifted his weight on his legs.

A vampire came towards them, holding wine glassed on a tray with a red liquid inside each and every one of them. All four took a glass of blood and smiled at the vampire, waiting for him to leave.

When he did, Benny said, "I'm gonna figure out what this was about later, you know." His friend stayed quiet. There was something they were hiding for him and it might be something serious, but he just let this slide now. "Anyway, I'm going to watch a few movies after I get out of here. Any of you want to join?"

He got a few nods and "yeah"s. At least he could avoid the boredom for this night. It was silent after that and no one spoke.

Benny told the three that he wanted some alone, quite time, which was also his thinking time. Standing on one side in the yard, he started thinking. It was the perfect place. Empty and peaceful. The swimming pool in front of him looked nice with the moon shining its light on it.

He kept thinking about what had just happened. They were talking about the new student, Ethan, and Sarah and Rory just decided to stop talking. Why was that? What did Rory want to say? Why were they keeping secrets from him, anyway? They had nothing to hide when they live in the supernatural world.

His feet moved against the floor until he found himself standing in front of the pool. He looked at the water. He should've seen his reflection there, but being a vampire didn't allow even that. He lifted his head up when he heard footsteps coming this way, thinking it's one of his friend. Surprisingly, it was the new student.

The poor guy couldn't possibly be one of them. He looked so human and peaceful. Maybe he was some person one of the vampires wanted to feast on. But no. There was no smell of blood or the pumping of it. The pale skin, the dark clothes… he should've guessed.

"Ethan?" he asked.

He looked into his eyes when he heard his name. Shock was shown on his face now, which was obvious from the opened lips and the staring eyes. "Benny," he breathed out. Even though it was just a whisper, he could hear it from where he was standing. "You're…" The word faded out when he spoke.

"Yeah," he replied.

Ethan came closer to Benny until he could clearly see his face. They were just a few feet away from each other now. "How long?"

"A year," he simply answered. "You're new at this, aren't you?"

He seemed to think about it before he spoke. "Well, as new as a two weeks vampire can be."

"Who did it to you?" Whoever did this was a beast for biting such an innocent-looking person.

Ethan was hesitating now. A lot. Maybe he didn't feel comfortable. If that was the case, he needed to sit down beside him, which was what Benny made him do. The bench they sat on was a bit small, maybe fitting two and a half people, so they had to sit close to each other.

"Tell me," Benny spoke softly. He still did not say anything. "Believe me, I can be trusted. I'm not a bad guy." He had to add the last part because he knew a lot of those vampires that would be merciless.

Finally, Ethan started tell him who it was. "Jesse."

"As in… Jesse Black?" It had to be him. The guess was confirmed when Ethan nodded. "So, he moved to turning guys, huh?" Benny thought out loud. "What were you doing with him, anyway?"

He hesitated. Again. But this time, Benny didn't need to ask him the question twice. "We were dating by that time. He seemed charming and nice, but I guess I got the "nice" part wrong."

Him? And Jesse? On a date? "Wait, you're gay too?"

"What do you mean "too"?" Ethan asked. He didn't need an answer for that. The words were obvious itself.

"There you are," Benny heard a familiar voice. Turning around was not needed either because it was clearly Jesse. "I've been looking for you, Ethan."

Now, he noticed Jesse behind Ethan, walking towards them. The shorter boy looked afraid. He mouthed the words "help me" before Jesse came near, putting his arms around the scared vampire.

"You're coming, right?" Jesse asked. Ethan was forced to look at him when he put his fingers under his chin and moved his head.

"Y-Yeah," Ethan stuttered. "N-Now?"

Jesse's smiling face nodded. That smile was obviously fake. His hands took Ethan roughly by the arm and made him stand up. Ethan gave a quick glance in Benny's direction before Jesse dragged him away.

If Ethan said 'we were dating _by that time_', then why did Jesse act like that? Maybe he was still the same person that had to get what he want. Although, Benny doubted he was even considered a person if you'd look into his personality. More like a monster.

Ethan wanted Benny to help, so he had to. He couldn't let Jesse treat him like that. He knew that already by now, they'd be inside the house – upstairs most probably. When he entered, it was even more crowded than ever. It was even louder. Upstairs was more quiet, so he had to sneak up if he wanted to listen to something without being found out about. Luckily, he heard Jesse's and Ethan's voices, so he stood in front of the door that he guessed both were in.

"I don't want to anymore!" Ethan whisper-yelled.

"Oh, when will you learn that you can't decide for yourself?" Jesse laughed.

"You can't control my life!" This time, he really yelled.

"I told you," Jesse said before Benny heard something. Was that a slap? "You don't have a choice." He wanted to go inside and help him out, but he found that he was frozen in his place. "Get up." Jesse's voice was so scary, Benny didn't want to exist anymore.

"Ow! Ow! Jesse, that hurts!" If Ethan had time to say that, it must have not been that serious. But since Benny hated it when Jesse would invite someone to his mansion and act like that. He'd do that to girls. But to this guy? He didn't dare do it. Even if he _did_ look vulnerable.

This time, Benny had the guts to push the door open. Ethan's knees were almost touching the ground with Jesse's hand holding Ethan's arm. There was a bruise on Ethan's face that was slowly healing. He wasn't surprise that it was taking time to heal because Ethan was a vampire for two weeks. New vampires or even fledglings couldn't do it as quickly as others.

"I hated you before, Jesse, but you're taking it a bit too far. You can't just slap a guy who doesn't want to do as you say." He couldn't believe the bravery that came rushing.

"So, you were eavesdropping," Jesse said, letting go of Ethan, who dropped on the ground, and crossing his arms.

"Just let the poor guy go. He didn't do anything." This really let Jesse step back. Maybe he didn't want to fight.

"I'm only doing this, Weir, because this is the last time you're doing this, isn't it?" Jesse asked.

"I swear, I'm not doing it on purpose-"

"Oh, save it! You might want to use this as the last sentence you say before you're dead."

Then, Jesse was out of sight. He didn't care about the threat. Ethan was still on the ground with the fear still there. He would've asked if he was okay, but that was a stupid answer. Of course he wasn't. Instead, he went over to him and gently helped him stand up.

"Thank you," Ethan weakly said.

"You wanted help, didn't you?" Benny said with a smile. A grin and then a laugh came out from the young vampire. "Come on. Let's get out of here." He put his hand on Ethan's shoulder, guiding him outside. "Maybe I could also introduce you to my friends. They're nice."

Ethan looked at Benny with those brown eyes that Benny thought were cute and nodded. They both stared at each other for a minute and Ethan didn't seem liked he wanted to look away. But when they reached the stairs, Ethan looked away from Benny.

The walk outside was filled with talking between the two. Benny didn't even know a person could be this happy just talking to someone. There was just something about this guy that Benny didn't know what. He just made Benny instantly happy. Not keeping his secret from him was the best part too.

When they reached his friends, he said, "Time to introduce you." And when they got close enough, Benny started mentioning their names.

"Guys, this is Ethan," Benny said. "Ethan, this is Sarah." They shook hands. "This is Erica." They shook hands too, but Erica didn't seem as happy as Sarah was. "And this is Rory." Ethan paused before he smiled and shook Rory's hand. Rory seemed the most excited. He usually was.

Ethan looked shy around them. He didn't speak a word and he looked at random things around the yard.

The girls looked at Benny worriedly, waiting for an explanation as Rory just looked at Ethan with knitted eyebrows.

"Jesse happened." They needed to know that.

Sarah put her eyes on Ethan, and looked at him apologetically. "I know how you feel. But he's a jerk, so forget about him. We," she pointed at her friends, "can be your friends. We can help you."

Erica, being herself, opened her mouth to say something, but closed it quickly and smiled. "Yeah."

"Thanks, but-"

"Look, you're new here, and you obviously don't know it, but if you're dealing with Jesse, your ass needs to be looked after," Rory said.

Ethan and Erica laughed at Rory's funny tone of talking while Sarah and Benny gave him a look that made his smile disappear.

"Well," Benny said, making the two stop. "My friends and I are going to my house to watch a movie. Would you like to come?"

Ethan shook his head. "I think I better go home. Maybe I can come later?"

After Benny shook his head, Ethan said his goodbye and left. He would've too if he were in his place. Staying in Jesse's house would've been a bad idea.

"So, you like him, is what I'm getting," Erica said from behind him, making him turn to see her. A smirk has appeared on her face.

He couldn't say that he didn't because it would've been a lie. "So what? He's cute."

Sarah giggled.

Rory just rolled his eyes. "I _hate_ being the only person here who likes girls."

Erica still smiled, but this time, she was looking at Rory. "Idiot," she muttered. "But anyway, Benny, I _want_ to help you." Erica was never nice. She was just kind when it came to romance or Dusk.

"No. If I like a guy, I'll deal with everything myself. Plus, your meddling only causes chaos," Benny said, remembering one of the dates he had with one of the girls who almost burned her dress with Erica's candle. That wasn't the only time something bad happened. Once, a guy went out with him, and they both went to a vampire restaurant.

"But-"

"Erica, I appreciate you trying to help, but from now on, I'm going to try to impress the guys I like by my own. No helping, okay?" he asked.

She gave out a sigh and walked away, mumbling a "whatever" before she was out of sight.

Now, he had to go home and watch movies with his friends… after finding Erica, of course, which wasn't going to be hard. He just had to look for the guy with the tray of blood in his hand.

* * *

**Okay, so just to make things clear, Jesse is not as evil as in the show. He just… wants what he wants. I mean, he IS devious, but he is not AS evil. **

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I promised more Bethan, and I did more Bethan. So, there you go!**

**Until next time…**

**-TEM**


	3. Getting to Know Each Other

**This chapter is unplanned. I have no idea what to do. But anyway, I'll see what I've got. I'm a miracle worker if you haven't noticed.**

**Let's get this over with now.**

* * *

The next day at school, all Benny could think of was how badly Jesse treated Ethan. The poor guy was innocent, so why would he even harm such a person? Maybe he was thinking that way because he liked Ethan a bit, but that didn't mean he couldn't be angry at Jesse. Benny had seen bad people, and Jesse was one of them. He was just cruel and mean, and he liked hurting the ones weaker than him. He did this to most girls. Even to Sarah before they both broke up.

His anger began rising even more when he saw Jesse in the hallways, talking to a girl and smiling. The poor girl looked excited about talking to him. Little did she know what he was. He wished he could help her, but interfering with Jesse's 'relationships' was what made the fight begin in the first place. He had no intention of ruining his own life even more.

Suddenly, it was like his day got better when he saw Ethan walk with someone that he didn't know. The shorter boy noticed him for a second, said something to the person he was talking to and then came over to Benny.

"Hey, Benny," his new friend said.

"Hi!" he said, looking at the person that he was previously talking to. "Who was that?"

"No one. Just trying to get to know a few people," he simply answered.

Benny nodded understandingly.

"I, uh… want to thank you for helping me last night," he said. "If you didn't come to save me, I don't know what would've happened to me."

He checked behind Ethan to see if Jesse was still there, which he wasn't anymore. "It's fine. I know how he's like. Anyway, what happened in there?"

Ethan sighed and looked behind Benny, probably at the lockers. "Two weeks ago, after Jesse bit me and made me drink blood from someone, I broke up with him. I was just too scared. After a few days, he showed up again. He wanted me to be his boyfriend again. I, of course, refused. Days later, I heard from someone that Jesse's throwing a party and that I'm forced to come. If I don't, he'd drag me there. Since I was still scared, I went there. When he took me to one of the rooms, he asked for the same thing. I didn't want to be his boyfriend, but this time, he was more forceful. He grabbed my arm _hard_ so i wouldn't escape. And then, well, you know what happened. He just… slapped me."

"Oh," he said, getting it. "Well, don't worry. He shouldn't be one of your concerns anymore. Plus, you have four vampires by your side protecting you."

That made Ethan smile. "Thanks. Again."

"It's no problem," Benny said. He had to admit that Ethan's smile was cute. But something in his head said, _This smile seems familiar. It's not strange to me. I've seen it before._ He shook that out of his head. That only made him realize how little he knew about Ethan. "Hey, about you coming to my house… well, when would you like to come?"

"Tonight is fine with me, but why are you in such a hurry?"

"Can't I get to know my friend?" He said it as if Ethan was asking a stupid question.

"Well, I don't know where your house is. Would it be okay with you if you show me where it is after school?"

"Okay, but one question. Do you drive home or walk there?"

"Walk. Why?"

"Perfect. I'll just walk you to my house quickly. It's not far from here." Just after he said that, the bell rang and the two knew they had to be separated now. "I guess we have to go to class," he muttered to himself, knowing Ethan could hear him.

* * *

After the bell for lunch rang, Benny wanted to go over to Rory's locker to see if he was even there. Well, he was, but he was talking to Ethan. The conversation was clearly heard from the place he was standing in.

"He doesn't, does he?" That was Ethan asking the question.

"I really don't know what goes on in Benny's head. He's been through a lot," Rory said.

What did that even mean? If he was talking about him turning, that was a year ago. It was old news to him now. His friends really puzzled him.

"I don't want to start o-"

"I know," Rory interrupted. "Hey, I think that…" his voice lowered to a whisper that Benny couldn't hear. He knew he had to just go over there and talk to them.

When he was close enough, he said his hello and they did too after him. "So, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with us this lunch," he said, hoping that he'd be fine with it.

"Sure, but won't I be interrupting anything in your little group?" Ethan asked.

"No. It's fine. The girls seem to like you enough, and plus, Jesse might come to you if you were alone." This had to be enough to convince him to come.

He seemed to think about it before he said, "Okay, but if anything goes wrong, I'll leave your table."

"Nothing will go wrong. Besides, I just want to get to know you," he said. "Anyway, let's go. I bet the girls are waiting."

* * *

Benny felt that every time he hung out with Ethan, time flew quickly. That day, he didn't even feel the clock ticking at lunch. After classes, he'd see him at times and talk to him, and when school ended, Benny led Ethan to where his house was. Ethan said he'd be there at six. But the point was, he couldn't wait for him to come anymore. There was something about him that made Benny feel all jumpy and happy. He was just special. By special he meant that he'd never felt this way towards any other person.

The clock on the wall read five fifty eight. He should be there any minute now. Just when he was about to go downstairs, the doorbell rang. Perfect timing for Ethan to come. Or maybe it was one of his three friends. Though he doubted that since they'd come five to ten minutes late.

"I'll get it!" he yelled when he was halfway down the stairs. Taking his time, he headed to the door. He was surprisingly calm. It was just because he didn't want to get his hopes up. Well, that was what he wanted to feel when he opened the door.

"Hey," the friend face of his new buddy said. "Am I early?"

"Two minutes don't matter, you know," he replied, giving him a smile.

Yeah, uh, but can I come in? I kind of need an invitation," he said.

Of course. How could he forget? "Yeah. Sure. Come in." Once he stepped in, Benny asked, "So, wanna go up to my room?"

"Sure," he simply answered.

The two boys walked upstairs. Benny had to admit he was happy they were alone, even for a few minutes. Maybe he'd have a chance to chat with him during those few minutes that his friend wouldn't be in. They tend to come late, anyway, so why worry? When the other vampire stepped into the room, Benny patted a spot in his bed, suggesting that he would sit down there, which he agreed to do.

"Since no one's here yet, I figured maybe we should talk and… maybe get to know each other." Ethan nodded. "So, how long has it been since you've last been here? You know, since you told me it's not your first time here."

Ethan looked down. For a moment, his smile disappeared, but his face remained neutral when he looked at Benny. "Well, I haven't been here since after sixth grade."

That was weird. If Ethan was there during sixth grade, he would've at least remembered his face, but he didn't. When he thought about it, he didn't really remember strangers' faces much. "Why did you leave?" he asked, trying to not think about this.

"I didn't have a choice. It's family stuff. We don't all live in Whitechapel," he said.

Benny didn't know what to say or ask after that, so he nodded.

"What about you?" Ethan asked.

"What about me?"

"Tell me anything," he said.

Benny didn't know what to talk about, so he started saying anything that came to mind. "There's not much to tell. My only friend had been Rory for a while until I met the girls." At this, Ethan switched his looked from Benny to the room – totally random parts of the room. Benny wondered why. "I live with my dad and my grandmother. I've never actually seen Mom. Only in pictures."

"Really?" Now, Ethan was looking at him. "I'm… so sorry about that." Who wouldn't be? Anyone he told this about would apologize for no apparent reason.

"It's fine. It's not like I remember her," he'd say every time. This subject was making him uncomfortable, so he changed it. "Totally random question, but how many friends have you ever had in your whole life?"

The boy laughed. "I'm gonna sound pathetic, but only four. I don't really socialize. Anyway, all my friendships failed. I only had one best friend."

"What happened to that best friend?"

"I guess while traveling, I just left my friend. I bet they don't even remember me." The sadness in his voice was too much that Benny couldn't stand it. But one thing he noticed was that Ethan didn't say the gender of the person but instead chose the word 'they'. Maybe he just wanted to keep it anonymous.

"Why wouldn't they? I mean, any person would be lucky to have you as a friend," he comforted him.

"I don't think they'd know me. Anyway, things are different now." It was a bit silent afterward. That was until Ethan asked, "What about you? How many friends have you had?"

"Friends? Many. Best friends? Three. Though, I bet they'll be four."

"So, we're best friends now?" Ethan asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. "So fast?"

"Why not? I mean, in two days, we managed to spend a lot of time hanging out."

Ethan nodded. "You have a point. But best friends? Really?"

Just when Benny was about to say his reply, the doorbell rang again.

"I guess the others are here," he said, getting up.

* * *

**As I said, I had no idea what to do this chapter. I'm so confused on what to do next, anyway, so wish me good luck!**

**That is the end of this chapter. Until next time…**

**-TEM**


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